


The Sole Survivor

by SeriftheSkeleton



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27686561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeriftheSkeleton/pseuds/SeriftheSkeleton
Summary: Temple Guards were the core defense force of the Jedi Temple. They were tasked in keeping the temple safe and stopping any potential threats from inflicting damage upon the sacred Jedi temple, no matter how grave.However, when Operation Knightfall occured and the 501st, led by Anakin Skywalker, newly appointed as Darth Vader, stormed the Jedi Temple, the guards were nowhere to be found. Not even in their place as the temple’s lines of defense.So where were they?
Collections: Stories of the Purge





	The Sole Survivor

Temple Guards were the core defense force of the Jedi Temple. They were tasked in keeping the temple safe and stopping any potential threats from inflicting damage upon the sacred Jedi temple, no matter how grave.

However, when Operation Knightfall occurred and the 501st, led by Anakin Skywalker, newly appointed as Darth Vader, stormed the Jedi Temple, the guards were nowhere to be found. Not even in their place as the temple’s lines of defense.

So where were they?

Many survivors of the Purge believe they were killed by the clones or cut down by Vader. However, it was actually neither. They were all killed by one of their own, a Pau’an Temple Guard who would later become the Grand Inquisitor.

The man had become disillusioned by the Order after being refused access to the archives and began to fall. He had killed all the Guards and gave Vader access to the temple.

That does not mean the fallen guard didn't encounter any resistance during his betrayal.

**-30 minutes prior to Operation Knightfall-**

A lone guard sat in the gardens, meditating. His formal robes flowed with the faint wind and his mask hid his identity. Such was the way of a Temple guard. Emotional detachment and anonymity were essential.

He had felt a disturbance in the force nearby, and, as his duty was to protect the temple, he probed his surroundings through the force in order to find its source. Strangely, it seemed to be coming from inside the temple.

The guard was initially confused. Why would the disturbance come from inside the Jedi Temple, unless...

Shooting up, he ran towards the disturbance, lightsaber in hand, ready for the worst. The closer he got the clearer the disturbance became. It was one of his own comrades. A Temple Guard, one who had clearly broken his oath considering the wave of emotions the guard was exhibiting.

Temple guards were trained to be balanced in the force and resist all temptation of the dark. They were tasked in protecting the temple and the younglings, but also to seek out anyone that was falling and bring them back to the light. But most important of all, they weere trained to be emotionally detached.

The Temple Guard gripped his lightsaber tighter and made his way towards the source of darkness. He had a duty to fulfill and he would not fail, lest death do take his soul.

Under his mask, he felt slightly troubled. He had felt the great darkness looming over the Jedi and it had troubled him, as he couldn't find the source through his meditation. It was almost as if the entire Jedi Order was shrouded in a dark cloud, masking the exact location of the source.

But he couldn't focus on that now. Ever since he was pulled from the rank of knight and into this greater call, he had devoted himself to his duty, and as of now, he had identified the source of a smaller disturbance.

_I surrender my identity_

_My weapon_

_Everything_

_Only my commitment remains_

_Through the force, I shall succeed._

He soon found his way to the disturbance, and was shocked to see a fellow temple guard be cut down by another, joining the several other bodies on the ground.

They were all fellow guardsmen.

The last guard standing had no mask on, as his lightsaber shown a menacing yellow, as did the Pau’an’s eyes. The fallen, maskless guard looked at the new arrival to his massacre, and grinned darkly.

"Another weak guard to slay…"

"You will cease hostilities", the guard said, his voice modulator rendering his voice even more anonymous. Despite said modulator, his voice was firm, hiding his wariness.

"Never", the Pau'an guard said as he rushed the other, fueled by anger and rage.

"Then I shall fulfill my duty"

The masked guard swiftly took out and snapped open his lightsaber, igniting one of the yellow blades as he blocked a strike from the Pau'an. Compared to the Pau’an’s menacing yellow, his seemed more docile, peaceful.

Pushing back the attack, the Temple guard struck at the Pau'an, who twisted around and struck again. The guard twirled his lightsaber and blocked the attack, using the force to push the Pau'an back.

"You have more skill than the others, but it won't save you", the Pau'an's voice held no regret.

He had truly fallen to the dark side.

"By authority of the Jedi Council, you will be put under arrest for murder of your fellow Temple Guards. I urge you to stop this and lay down your weapon", he knew the fallen guard would not stop or listen, but it was worth a try.

"Stop me then!", the Pau'an shouted and rushed the guard, who blocked and parried as many of the strikes he could. The Pau'an was using Form IV, _Juyo_ , and his strikes were powerful.

"Master Jocasta Nu refused me access to the archives. She will not stop me now" he said, his voice soaked in anger and rage.

The guard blocked again, his training in _Soresu_ being very helpful, before activating his second blade and going on the offensive. His advanced training in Form VI, _Niman_ , allowed him to combine the defensive style of _Soresu_ , the heavy attacks of _Ataru_ and counterattacks of _Shien_. He pressed on his attack to subdue the Pau'an, but met fierce resistance as all his attacks were blocked.

The Pau'an pushed back and became more aggressive, striking harder and faster. Despite the Temple Guard's extensive training, he was getting overwhelmed. He began to backtrack in hopes of encountering aid on the way, as he made his way towards the entrance of the temple.

The Pau'an followed, his sith yellow eyes tracking his every move.

The sentinel held his lightsaber steady, ready for the next onslaught of the fallen guard. However, the Pau’an didn’t attack, and only made the guard keep backtracking. The guard kept his eyes on the dark man as he walked behind a pillar, and disappeared. The Temple Guard kept backtracking, wary of his surroundings. The Pau’an could easily counter attack him.

He didn't know the Pau'an guard had left to the entrance of the temple.

**-The Sole Survivor-**

The Temple Guard was suprised to see how empty the Jedi Temple was. Where were all the young ones? The younglings, the padawans, the knights? Why did it feel like he was alone? Why did it feel like something bad was happening?

His backtracking eventually led him to one of the main hallways closer to the entrance, where he encountered several clones with blue markings on their armor. He recognized it as the markings of the 501st, having heard of their incredible feats on the holonet. It was strange that theywere here in the first place, and seemed on alert, weapons at the ready. He was going to talk to them, however, his senses screamed danger.

The guard had no time to ask them what was happening when one of them shouted.

"Jedi ! Blast him !", they opened fire on the lone guard, who began blocking, taken by surprise at the sudden offense. He parried the laser bolts back at the clones, dropping them all one after the other.

He heard heavy blaster fire and lightsabers deflecting laser fire, followed suddenly by a huge shift in the force, filled with dark screams and agonizing pain. It came from one of the training rooms. He rushed off to the temple training room the shift came from, taking out the clones he met in his way, or avoiding them if there were too many. Making sure he was in the clear, the guard opened the door to one of the rooms, and visibly recoiled. Inside, he found a dozen dead younglings and padawans, all with visible and fatal blaster wounds.

The guard nearly couldn’t contain his disgust and sorrow, but years of serving as a guard allowed him to remain relatively level-headed. Whether it was a blessing or not, he couldn’t decide. How had this happened? Why did the clones turn on the Jedi? Who was behind this?

He needed to find out. Somehow.

However, another thought crossed his mind.

He was the last guard of the Temple, and he had failed his purpose. The sight before him made that point evident. He couldn’t protect the Jedi. He couldn’t protect the Temple. Not with the extensive clone forces spread throughout the Jedi Temple

He had to exile himself. To redeem his failure. To redeem himself.

He had to survive.

The back of his mind told him to grab a few holocrons just in case he came across any young survivors of this apparent purge. Sneaking his way into the holocron vault, he grabbed a few holocrons, mainly on the lightsaber forms of combat and various force techniques. He also acquired an abandonned hood and cloak along the way. Slicing down the few clones who had managed to enter the holocron vault, he started making his way towards the lower hangar bays. He knew he’d need a ship if he wanted to escape the Temple alive, as apprehensive as he was to leave his home.

The guard could feel another dark presence in the Temple now, larger than the one he felt before. It felt powerful, too powerful, yet somewhat familiar. However, he had no interest in finding out why it did. He knew he would surely die trying to find out, be it by him, or the clones.

So he made his way through the temple halls, taking down any clones he found as swiftly as he could while avoiding the dark presence and shielding his force presence.

He needed to find a ship to leave, and hide out somewhere in hope to find any other survivors. However, he realized, if he were to take a Jedi starfighter, he would be immediately shot down by the clones. Or any ship from the temple for that matter.

The guard stalled for a second, feeling a wave of death reach him once again. All recognizable deaths, from across the galaxy. Master Secura, Master Koon, Master Mundi, even Master Windu was gone.

The Jedi seemed to be truly defeated, and any and all survivors had to escape, to survive. Rebuild in secret if they could, but survival was the main priority

The guard covertly made his way towards one of the small hangars where he could perhaps fnd a speeder to take into the Coruscant Underworld to hide out for a few days before hitching a transport to another world, safe from the reach of the Sith.

Entering the hangar, he found a squad of clones guarding the few speeders that were present. One took immediate notice of him, and alerted his fellow troopers in the hangar.

“Kill the Jedi!”, he shot at the guard, his fellow troops following in their brother’s actions.

The Temple Guard immediately shifted into a Shii-cho stance to deflect the clones’ blaster fire back at the attacking clones, using only a single blade. One by one, the clones fell to the deflected blaster fire, slowly getting taken out. One clone tapped his comlink, calling for reinforcements before taking a deflected blaster bolt to the chest, slumping to the ground, dead.

The sentinel knew he had to get moving quickly. Reinforcments would be in the hangar soon, so he had to act fast.

The guard placed his holocrons in a pouch on one of the speeders as he straddled it, turning on the engine as the aformentioned reinforcements entered the hangar bay.

“Don’t let him escape!”, the lead clone shouted, before firing at the Temple Guard. The blast hit the man in the shoulder, burning a hole through guard’s cloak, a dark scorch mark appearing on the man’s grey robes, The guard turned around and threw his hand out, sending the clones flying with a blast of the Force. The guard then drove himself out of the hangar, clutching his wounded shoulder as he made his way towards the Coruscant underworld.

Two other clones mounted their speeders, speeding after the wounded guard, who had put his lightsaber away, focusing on his objective. Getting to the spaceport.

Weaving through the traffic and the large Coruscant buildings, he dove into the Underworld, doing his best to lose the two troopers trailing him, while trying to avoid the blaster fire behind him. Dodging speeders and floating billboards, an idea slipped into his head as he noticed an empty alleyway.

Swerving into said alleyway, he halted his speeder, and stood at the ready, lightsaber ignited, as he waited for the clones to arrive. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait for long. One of the two clones sped into the alleyway, only for his speeder to get slashed across the front, making it flip over, hurling the clone into the wall with enough speed to seriously wound him, if not kill him depending on how he landed. The other came in, blaster in hand, firing at the guard. The Temple Guard deflected the blaster shot into the clone’s head, causing the speeder to barrel into where the first clone was.

Well, if the first clone wasn’t dead before, he certainly was now, as the crashed speeder exploded. The guard observed for a second, before making his way towards the roof of the underworld buildings, knowing he would start getting trailed again if he didn’t get a move on. He had to make his way to the spaceport and get off this planet, his wounded shoulder would simply have to wait.

**-The Sole Survivor-**

The man looked at the scene through the viewport before him. From the civilian shuttle he had boarded, he could see the Jedi Temple burning, smoke billowing from the walls of the sacred building. The man felt bad having to abandon his home, the Jedi’s home, but he knew that the more Jedi that survived, the more they had a chance to fight back.

The man’s shoulder flared with pain, but he ignored it, reaching up with his good arm towards his face.

The man reluctantly removed his mask, and placed it inside the small bag of holocrons he had taken from the temple. His distinct blue skin contrasting with his dark hood, as his red eyes were filled with tears he didn’t even know were there.

For the first time since he had been called to be a Temple Guard, he felt emotion;

Sorrow.

As the transport began to make a hyperspace jump towards Garel, the Temple Guard knew that one chapter was closing for him, and a new one beginning.


End file.
